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Resident asks Baldwin Park to clarify police role in ICE encounters; council asks chief to issue guidance
Summary
A Baldwin Park resident asked the City Council June 18 what steps the city and police are taking to protect residents from alleged ICE operations; council members asked the police chief to prepare public guidance and for staff to follow up with the speaker.
A Baldwin Park resident urged city leaders June 18 to explain how the city and police department will protect residents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations after several community members said they were afraid to leave home.
"These ICE officers, we've seen videos all over online. They're coming seemingly clandestinely wearing masks on unidentified cars, and I just wanna know what the city and the police department is planning to do," Raven Urias, a second-year law student and Baldwin Park resident, told the council during public communications.
Council members and staff told the speaker they could not provide full answers at the meeting but would follow up. "We won't have answers for you at the meeting. Go ahead and ask your questions, and then we will get back to you. We'll get your number," the mayor said. Council members then asked the police chief to prepare information explaining what residents should do and what police can do if they are confronted by individuals who do not identify themselves as law enforcement.
Council Member Estrada asked the city to pursue additional outreach and protections: he requested bus-shelter notices informing residents of their rights, a letter to larger plazas asking they not allow staging areas for enforcement activity, and suggested tracking ICE activity through public records requests as other cities had done. He also urged the council to treat food-drive funding as urgent given the economic impact on families who are afraid to work.
The city manager and council agreed that staff would prepare guidance and public information. "So if you can have that information chief, and that would help the young lady also. And that way, we can put it out for our community," the mayor said. The clerk later confirmed that the speaker's questions were emailed to council members.
No formal action or ordinance was taken; the meeting record shows the council directed staff to prepare informational materials and to follow up with the resident.
